Real Estate/Ducktails/Alex Bleeker and the Freaks

I once heard Real Estate described as "a band about nothing" (the Seinfeld of bands) and it was maybe the best description of them I've heard. There's not really a unified theme among their songs (maybe a kind of overlying beach thing (maaaybe)) but really they are about nothing. You are supposed to "write what you know" and that's exactly what Real Estate does.

The above pic also perfectly captures what they are all about. It's the middle of summer. It's hot. Really hot. You're in some pretty unremarkable venue (apparently in Texas) (although they are from New Jersey). You're bored. And then this band comes on. They're pretty lazy, lofty, groove-able. Very soothing. You forget it's hot. You stop being bored.

That's what Real Estate is for me. They're one of my favorite bands, and, they are kind of like those toys where you move some of the pieces around and it becomes something new.


Which brings us to the next band on the agenda (and another favorite of mine) Ducktails. I already posted about him but he should be mentioned in the post about all things Real Estate.

See this post for more in depth info (along with Jeans Wilder)

Last of the Real Estate bands is Alex Bleeker and the Freaks. Alex Bleeker is the bassist and he writes the music in this one. It's way more folky based, although pretty freak-folky. Think of like Woods mixed with Bon Iver with a pinch of some more traditional folk. He's got an album out, and it's pretty good. There's less of a connection between The Freaks and Real Estate than between Ducktails and Real Estate, but one common link is the killer guitar work. There's more distortion (Woods style) here, but it's great. He's way less known than Ducktails, and it's kinda a shame. Definitely worth checking out.

DUCKTAILS/JEANS WILDER

Ducktails is Scrooge McDuck Matt Mondanile, who just so happens to be the guitarist in one of my fave bands, Real Estate. I've been listening pretty heavily to Ducktails since early in the summer and I'm actually suprised I haven't posted about him yet, I was pretty sure I had. Better late than never though, right?

Ducktails makes me think of driving back home from the beach one summer night, when it was pretty hot in the day, although not humid, but has now cooled down to that perfect, just right temperature, in a car filled to the brim with my friends. We're driving just a little too fast maybe, and it's probably not really the safest option or anything, but it is due to two things: 1. We've just finished one of the best days in a while and we're feeling pretty confident. and 2. It's been a long day and we're all tired in the sort of way you get after having the sun beat down on you all day and we're a little delirious and sleep-deprived. We are happy.

It's beach-y, phased-out, filled-to-the-brim-with-soothing-wah-y-guitar-lines, nicenice keyboards, simple-but groove-y drums, and often-hidden vocals, all mixed together and repetitive in the best, relaxing way.









He has so many more good tracks than the few I've linked you to. CHECK HIM OUT (PLEASE)




Jeans Wilder (Andrew Caddick) makes music in a semi-similar vein to Ducktails. I've more often heard him being compared to Wavves and Best Coast (before King of the Beach and Crazy for You) and I think that's a more decent comparison. His stuff is lo-fi for sure, and there's a sort of beach-y influence that seems to be really popular and common these days, but the vast majority of his songs are sort of drone-y, gloomy, and more somber. Jeans Wilder is a very druggy, stoned-out guy, and that's really apparent through his music. The downside of this is that I think it causes some of his tracks to drag on a bit sometimes, but he is still a good listen (even if you are not smoking DSG) so give him a try.

Kiss You from Hazed Nostalgia on Vimeo.

hope ya enjoy - Alec